The present invention relates to a weighted fabric material as well as garments made with such material and worn for therapeutic benefits and to increase athletic fitness and health.
There have been many proposals for exercise garments that have removable weights, with the intent to provide either a fitness aid without dedicating time to an exercise routine or as a training aid for athletes. Such garments are believed to facilitate a gradual increase in strength and bone mass as the weight or load carried by the user s gradually increased. However, these designs have not been commercially successful.
Today's lifestyles and working conditions most often compromise the average person's will to engage in and maintain physical exercise programs, the lack of which can lead to long term dysfunctions and health problems.
In modern societies physical fitness is commonly pursued through various repetitive exercises such as weight lifting routines and cardiovascular exercises done for specific time intervals using different devices and machines for strengthening and moving particular parts of the human body. These exercises require discipline as well as an extended and maintained time investment, both of which can be difficult commitments for an individual to make. Moreover, these activities entail prudence the duration and intensity level of the exercise in order to attain a desired level of fitness without incurring injuries particularly when they are not conducted on a regular basis. Physical fitness becomes a serious problem for older people who, as they age and lose their sense of security and physical capability, tend to withdraw to inactivity.
It is a object of the invention to provide an exercise garment that is useful for both general physiological conditioning as well as a training aid that provide the general advantages of being a garment that is easy to wash and maintain, as well as to provide the user with a normal appearance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an exercise garment that is also comfortable to wear.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an exercise garment weight loading and weight distribution.
It is a further object to provide such a garment with appropriately placed weights and other strengthening devices to treat specific medical conditions.